Etihad Airways goes double daily to Melbourne

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, today announced plans for a second daily non-stop service between Abu Dhabi and Melbourne from 1 August 2015.

Second daily non-stop Melbourne-Abu
Dhabi flight from 1 August 2015.

Only airline to offer double daily
non-stop flights between Melbourne and UAE.

New service will increase connectivity
to more than 50 markets worldwide.

Double daily service to 20 key
destinations in the Middle East and Europe.

Doubling cargo capacity supports
increased trade and job creation.

The additional flight will
be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with eight seats in First Class, 40
in Business Class and 280 in Economy Class. This will add more than 4,500 seats
per week to the route, supporting strong two-way demand. It will also double
the airline’s freight handling capacity providing new opportunities for trade.

The second daily non-stop
flight will offer travellers more flexibility with two timings from which to
choose and more than double the number of weekly flight connections.

James Hogan, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said: “We commenced flights to Melbourne
in 2009 and it has since become one of the strongest routes on our network.
Together with Virgin Australia and our other partner airlines, we have built a
large and loyal customer base which has asked us for more choice. Today, I’m
pleased to answer that call by announcing a
doubling of our award-winning services to Melbourne.

“The new schedule will offer
our guests a choice of two convenient departure times and seamless connectivity
over Abu Dhabi to the Etihad Airways and Etihad Partners’ global networks.

“Significantly, we will be
the only airline offering double daily non-stop flights between Melbourne and
the UAE, and twice daily one-stop services to a vast network of business and
leisure destinations worldwide.”

Tourism and Major Events
Minister John Eren welcomed today’s announcement: “Attracting new airline
services is a longstanding and continuing priority for the Victorian Government
as we seek to grow tourism across Melbourne and regional Victoria.

“Etihad Airways’
announcement represents another vote of confidence in Victoria as a leading
tourism destination and will deliver greater choice for leisure and business
travellers.”

Mr Hogan added: “Etihad
Airways has close ties to Australia with significant investments in our
workforce, infrastructure, tourism, and commercial partnerships across four
states. Investing more resources into Victoria not only deepens this commitment
but also delivers major economic benefits – particularly through Etihad Cargo,
the airline’s freight operation, and its support for two-way trade.”

Since Etihad Airways
commenced daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Melbourne in March 2009 the
airline has carried more than 900,000 passengers on the route. The airline also
has investments in sport, arts and culture, and community life in Melbourne
through commercial partnerships with Etihad Stadium, Melbourne City Football
Club, Sport Australia Hall of Fame, Melbourne Recital Centre and Islamic Museum
of Australia.

The new double daily
schedule for Melbourne increases to 42 the total number of flights the airline
operates between its four Australian gateways and its Abu Dhabi hub in
conjunction with partner airline Virgin Australia. This includes double daily
flights to Sydney and daily services to Brisbane and Perth.